Aniana del Mar jumps in

Review by Booklist Review

If Ani could become a dolphin and live in the water for the rest of her life she would, but she and Papi have been keeping her swimming practices a secret from Mami. Her mother still hasn't healed from losing someone close to her many years ago, and she's afraid that the water will betray her again. When Ani experiences increasing joint pain to the point that she can no longer move, the secrets come spilling out. After receiving a diagnosis of juvenile idiopathic arthritis, she is forbidden from swimming. Ani starts to feel her happiness slowly drain from her body, but if she is ever to swim again, she must regain her strength both physically and mentally. Aniana del Mar Jumps In is a story of love, loss, and growth that explores how our actions can unintentionally harm those who we love, how we learn to heal from that pain, and how we grieve not only those who we've lost but the people we once were, as well as embracing who we are becoming.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

In Galveston, Tex., 12-year-old Aniana del Mar loves to swim: "All I want/ is to/ slip/ slide/ drift/ glide." During daddy-daughter dates, she and Papi head to the YMCA for swim practice and meets, but the two keep these events secret from Mami, who still grieves losing "her brother/ her house and/ her village" as a child during Hurricane Georges, and regularly fears the worst for her family. But everything comes crashing down when Ani's occasional post-exercise aches and swelling intensify into chronic pain, "statue-stiff/ mornings and clumsy/ collapses," and a diagnosis of juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Religious Mami believes that God is punishing Ani for keeping secrets and lies with her father, and, in spite of the physical therapist's recommendation otherwise, bans all swimming. Ani meanwhile feels abandoned by Papi, who's frequently away working for the Coast Guard. Via myriad poetic forms and sensorial verse, Mendez viscerally details the emotional family tumult of grief, mistrust, and resentment alongside Ani's heartfelt quest to reunite with water. Back matter details poetic forms used and notes that Mendez, like Aniana, is Dominican American and lives with chronic illness and disability. Ages 8--12. Agent: Stefanie Sanchez Von Borstel, Full Circle Literary. (Mar.)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 5--9--Mendez makes both her middle grade fiction and narrator debuts, reciting her verse novel comprised of "several poetic forms"--including haiku and tanka, and also concrete/shape poems (albeit the page might be better suited for appreciating "Turtle Shell," "Fish Food," as examples). Aniana and Papi's "daddy-daughter dates" enable Aniana to secretly attend swim practice and meets without Mami knowing. Since losing her brother to drowning as children, Mami's forbidden Aniana from the water, never mind that Coast Guard--employed Papi is seabound for weeks at a time. When a mysterious illness debilitates Aniana's mobility, Mami insists she's being punished for lying. Her diagnosis says otherwise: juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Aniana knows--supported by doctors--that swimming is her best medicine, physically and mentally. Improvement will require she boldly claim that del Mar--"of the sea"--moniker. VERDICT Mendez reads rather than performs her girl-power story, but she ensures her characters are affectingly heard.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Horn Book Review

Aniana (Ani) del Mar lives on the Gulf Coast in ­Galveston, Texas, and the pull of the ocean is in her blood. But she must keep her passion for swimming secret from her devout Dominican mother, who lost a twin brother to a hurricane and deeply fears the water. A loving father, a preschool-age sibling, and a steady best friend help Ani keep her balance -- most of the time. But when she begins to suffer pain and swelling and is diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, she questions everything -- her gift for swimming, her family relationships, and her own identity. Incorporating some Spanish words and phrases, Mendez weaves together free-verse poetry, concrete poems, haiku, tanka, and even texting and dialogue poems to capture character voice and emotion and propel the story forward. She uses the shape and structure of the poem on the page to add weight to the text, as when âeoeNew Aniâe offers a list of ways in which the character feels she has changed and has come to accept herself. The story moves quickly as Ani competes in swimming and keeps it secret, then bogs down a bit as she grapples with her illness, but the poetry keeps the plot afloat as we engage with Ani in her struggles. Sylvia VardellMarch/April 2023 p.74 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

A talented Dominican American swimmer fights to keep doing what she loves. Twelve-year-old Aniana del Mar lives up to her name: Living on the island of Galveston, Texas, the water feels like home. But that's a secret she keeps with her easygoing Papi, who sneaks her to the YMCA for swim practice and meets. Mami discourages Ani from swimming; after witnessing her own brother's drowning during a hurricane, Mami is terrified of losing Ani and her 4-year-old brother, Matti, too. When Ani can no longer hide the joint swelling that plagues her when she overexerts herself, however, her secret's out. Mami, who belongs to a strict Christian church, is furious, insisting that Ani's juvenile idiopathic arthritis is God's punishment for lying. Though Ani's physical therapist endorses swimming, Mami bans Ani from the water she craves. As her family's bonds fray, Ani grapples with the challenges of invisible illness, including loss of bodily autonomy and others' lack of understanding. Incorporating concrete poems, haiku, and tanka, Ani's aching, determined verse narration weaves English and Spanish words into striking imagery as she navigates tumultuous emotions and her loving but stifling relationship with Mami. Mendez, also disabled and Dominican American, explores post-traumatic stress and its effects with both compassion and honesty, respecting Mami's trauma without diminishing the pain her overprotectiveness causes Ani. Religious belief is similarly represented with nuance. Supportive, diverse secondary characters add warmth. A painful yet hopeful exploration of family, trauma, faith, and healing. (author's note) (Fiction. 9-13) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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Prologue When I Learned to Swim Before my brother, Matti, is born before I learn how to keep secrets, before I learn what my name means and how it ties me to the water, Papi teaches me how to swim. Mami is away in the Dominican Republic visiting family and friends she hasn't seen in years. I am six and still afraid of everything. Papi knows Mami won't like it. But he decides it's time for me to learn. The First Time I tremble near the edge of a pool. My knees KnOcK kNoCk KnOcK against each other. A warm August wind w h o o s h e s through my tangled curls, I almost let go of my Minnie Mouse towel when-- Papi nudges me a little closer to the edge. I jUmP back as if the pool is a sinkhole of blue flames. I squeal a high-pitched trumpet tingling my tonsils: No, no, no! I don't want the water in my eyes in my nose in my lungs. Mami says that the water . . . Sssh mi reina, no pasa nada. Papi sits me on his lap, tells me a cuento para calmarme. Papi: The first time I swam in the green rivers of el campo, the current slapped me around until my arms began to flip and my legs began to flap and suddenly I was flying underwater. Your body will know how to handle the water as long as you don't resist it. Jumping In Papi's big brown arms wrap around my waist. His warm breath tickles my ear and his black beard sweeps against my cheek. Papi whispers: Concentrate-- Reach your arms out, then pull them apart as if you are parting the purple curtains in your room. Kick your legs like a drummer's hands when they paddle their palms on a Palo drum. Imagine your body is a feather and you'll float. Let the water hold you. Remember, yo estoy aquí. He squeezes my hand. 1 2 3! We jump in. The Island (& Me): May My Island We live on an island. The island where we live is an o u t s t r e t c h e d arm reaching into the Gulf of Mexico. Galveston: Where the streets are lined with papel picado houses in peacock green and pomegranate pink. Hundreds of shotgun houses where the wind whistles in through the front door and shoots directly down the hallways out the back. Hundreds of houses in sherbet colors that remind Mami of "back home." But this is the only home I've ever known. On Sundays before church, I like to walk to the seawall, alone, and watch the sunrise explode in the sky like cascarones on Easter. Blue, pink, and orange colors confetti the horizon and kiss the sea. Sometimes, I don't know if the ocean is the sky or the sky is the ocean. It opens BIG W I D E E N D L E S S. The way I do when I swim. Sometimes, I think that if I swim long enough I'll reach that cascarón sky and instead of swimming I'll begin to S O A R. Wants Me Close Some Sundays after church, Mami, Matti, and me go to the beach. Sometimes I build sandcastles with Matti. Sometimes, if Papi is with us and goes in the water with me, Mami lets me S W I M. Mami doesn't like it that I swim underwater so far away from her. I try to tell her: Papi taught me how to hold my breath, stroke my arms, and kick my fins, like a dolphin. I'll be fine. Still-- shewantsmeclose. She's afraid la mar will swallow me up the way it swallowed her brother her house and her village during a storm long ago when she was just a girl. Mami calls the ocean "la mar" instead of "el mar" because she believes the ocean is a strong woman who gives and takes life when she wants. The ocean will betray you she says. I try to tell her: I am Ani de las aguas I swim with the dolphins. The water and I protect each other. She won't take me away from you. Still-- shewantsmeclose. Birth Story Mami says when I was born, I almost drowned in the ocean of her belly and they had to C U T me out. I was not ready for the world, would not latch, would not eat, would not stop crying. So they slipped tubes through my nose and fed me food that was not Mami's milk. Mami says this made her worry we would not bond and I would not have enough of what I needed to grow big and strong. And sometimes I worry she was right. Excerpted from Aniana Del Mar Jumps In by Jasminne Mendez All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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